The Ice Queen on ARD-13
by 0841 Unyielding Temperance
Summary: Futuristic AU. Anna, alone in her belief of friendly alien life, is part of a mining vessel bound for the ice planet ARD-13. But rocks and ice aren't all they find. Anna and Elsa (the reclusive Commander) struggle with their feelings for each other, juggling their affection and their duty to their own species. Hard choices are ahead. And both their hearts hang in the balance.
1. Chapter 1

UNIF Mining Vessel _Living Rock._ Arendelle System

"There is absolutely no way anything could survive down there."

"You're wrong, Kristoff. I know it. There's gotta be something here. We can't be the only ones in the universe."

"Anna, that's not important. You know that the only reason why we're here is so that we can get to those deposits in ARD-13. The damn thing's almost all ice and metal anyway."

"Well, maybe they don't need to live in warm places like we do?"

"Anna, the planet's fucking atmosphere is carbon dioxide. The only liquid down there is goddamn nitrogen. Whatever the hell you're hoping to find, you're not going to find it here. Now go get some rest. We'll be arriving in a few days."

The strawberry blonde and her male companion departed the viewing deck of mining vessel Living Rock and made their way back to the crew's quarters. One fell asleep straight away, his mind focused only on getting as much rest as possible before the hard day tomorrow. The other lay awake in her bunk, the question in her mind slowly but surely fading away. Are we alone?

* * *

Planet ARD-13 (Human Designation). _Frossiya_

"The Seer has detected a vessel of unknown origin on a trajectory that intersects with the orbit of our world in approximately three days' time."

Within a crystal clear sphere of ice, another body, with all kinds of angular, straight shapes appeared. It and the ice globe that represented their world glowed blue as they were highlighted for everyone to see.

"Librarian, from where does this vessel hail?"

"Very far from this system. They come from many lightyears away, in the second quadrant of the galaxy."

"I have been there before, there is only one notable habitable planet in that sector. Currently"

The viewpoint in the ice shifted to become the Milky Way at large, before rotating to the Second Quadrant and zooming back in. A bright dot of light at its centre, the star only known as Sol to them, over four and a half billion years old. Around it orbited nine planets, two with rings. Four gas giants. The Explorer raised his hand and pointed to the third.

"Earth." They chorused.

The Librarian consulted her tablets on the inhabitants of the planet.

"They need oxygen and..." she wrinkled her nose, "water."

Murmurs echoed from around the table, and each and every member of the planetary council felt distaste tugging at their minds. Blasphemy. Sacrilege. To consume water was to take apart the very essence that their planet was constructed of, to change it to suit one's own need, to interfere with it at the molecular level. That was the ultimate sin. The ice would give itself to suit your need, but only in this present state. Their bond would only preserve if it was honored. To attempt to alter something as ordered, pure and clear as ice was unthinkable. All of them apologized mentally, banishing all thoughts of the thing called water from their minds. Instantly their emotions were brought back under their control.

"Why do they come towards us?" The Leader scratched his beard. "They cannot possibly want water, if they need it they must have enough where they come from to sustain themselves."

The Intelligence looked up sharply. "Water isn't the only thing we have. There are minerals below that we have found no use for, yet the humans might." The Librarian nodded, expressing her agreement. "There are several large deposits of the materials humans consider valuable all over the planet. The list is so large I will not bother listing. They must have found a gold mine, in their terms."

The Leader's blood ran cold at the words of the Librarian next. "To get what they want, they will have to open the planet. Forcefully." As he gazed into the sapphire blue eyes of the golden-haired female who was known as the Commander, he patiently awaited her assessment.

"It is too soon to make a decision. We will stop them first, then investigate why they are here."

"Why not just destroy them and be done with it?"

"I could do that, if you command it so. If you're willing to be the catalyst of the Second War of the Fourth Quadrant. Otherwise, you will wait. I will take my leave now, the Ringfleets need to be moved into defensive positions." With a curt bow, the Commander stood, her chair's legs leaving scratches in the crystal ice floor, which healed as quickly as they had appeared.

"Yes, _Elsa_," the councillors intoned, as she walked out the ice chamber.

* * *

UNIF _Living Rock_

A short, stout old man walked up to the podium. He smoothed out his silver hair and glared down at his audience through his round spectacles. At the touch of a button, the viewscreen winked on, and the image it was to be displaying began to load.

"This is the planet we have designated ARD-13. It's nothing but a ball of ice, and it orbits the white dwarf we have designated Arendelle ARD-00." A small white ball appeared in the centre of the viewscreen. "This white dwarf is one of the oldest in the universe, it has cooled to no more than a hundred kelvin. Its mass is approximately 1.2 solar masses..."

Anna struggled not to fall asleep as Officer Weselton, the man on the podium, continued to drone on about details that she deemed unimportant. What was the point of knowing all about a star system when there was no life there? Planets, stars, moons, all became the same thing when there was no life form to make it interesting.

She looked up into the viewscreen as a chorus of _ooh_s and _ah_s filled the auditorium. She gasped along with them too, when the planet came into view. It was a uniform, completely smooth sphere of ice that glowed blue in the feeble luminescence of the white dwarf. Surrounding it were a few rings of the same glowing blue material, which seemed to orbit the planet, resulting in an effect similar to that of water flowing. Silhouetted against the darkness of space beyond it, ARD-13 was easily the most beautiful thing that Anna had ever seen in her entire life.

Weselton's eyes narrowed in distaste at this spontaneous display. "Yes, it is very pretty, ladies and gentlemen, but that is not why we are here today." He clicked another button, and the results of a scan of sorts came up, all lines and gradients and bar charts. "Beneath that boring, ice exterior is where all the nice stuff is. All the metals, rocks, gems that we can mine. And then, we-_I_ will sell them, and make millions!" His eyes held a faraway gleam as he fantasized about his riches. Or at least, the riches that would become his after he sent his workers on to gather them for him. Anna scoffed and crossed her arms as her colleagues sycophantically praised Weselton and asked him stupid questions to boost his ego. _I have lost all faith in humanity._

"Wait, wait, SHUT UP!"

All voices in the room ceased and looked towards Kristoff, who was now standing, and staring at the screen. The huge blonde man raised a finger and pointed it towards the screen. "What the hell's that?"

On screen, the planet's rings were now beginning to 'flow' faster and faster, and as they rapidly gathered speed, so did they change position into different segments. The eight distinct rings split themselves up, changing their positions around the planet to positions similar to a primitive atomic structural model. Weselton's eyes narrowed as the rings suddenly began to glow and pulsate with a bright blue light.

There was no sound, only a ripple and shudder as the hull vibrated. People began to scream as the lights went out, and then they fell backwards as the entire ship shuddered to a stop. Thankfully, Anna was caught in Kristoff's secure arms as they were both thrown backwards.

When the lights finally came back on again, they were distinctly weaker than before, and the projector screen itself refused to turn itself back on. The officer's eyes narrowed into anger, and his face contorted in rage at his presentation being interrupted. He grabbed a communicator from above him. "What the hell was that?" He snarled.

"_Sorry sir_," the reply came from the engine room, where it was strangely silent. "_Whatever the hell that was, all the goddamn fuel's been frozen_." Anna's mouth dropped open and she stared at Kristoff in wonder. "_Gonna take us a few days to melt this down. We're running on emergency power for now._"

The officer's eyes widened, and he looked completely lost for a second before he regained his composure. Gesturing to the microphone, he spoke again. "Well, you heard them. All the fuel is frozen." He straightened his spectacles and looked at the planet. "Due to the... _unstable_ nature of the planet, I suggest we not move until we have confirmed that it is benign. Would anyone like to be part of a say... scout crew to check, and ensure the safety of your fellows?"

Anna's excited eyes met Kristoff's, and even though his eyes were just screaming at her not to volunteer, she couldn't help it. All her life, she'd been cooped up in her house, with her parents trying to train her to become the perfect woman to take over the family chain of hotels and such. When she'd signed up to become part of the UNIF Mining Crews, they'd been furious. Might as well make sure her time off world was worth it right? Maybe Kristoff was wrong, and there were really aliens out there, who lived on that ball of ice? How would she ever find out, unless she went to see for herself?

"I volunteer!"

* * *

The Ringfleets around Frossiya

The Commander lowered her hands and bowed to all of her _Kai_ before leaving the chamber. The Ringfleets had been moved into defensive position, each and every single one of the eight rings of ships was now poised to counter any threat from any direction. The extra surge of her own power she had thrown into the bond with the Ice had ensured that the human vessel would not move for the next few cycles at least. Should they advance, they would find over five thousand ships, each the size of a small asteroid, waiting to destroy them. Now the Commander walked to her chambers, where the _Hans_ awaited.

The Commander sighed as she walked through the Chamber of Remembrance in the Flagship, where the ice replicas of the previous _Elsa_ stood. The entire chamber tingled with ancient power, and knowledge. The surge of strength she felt every time she walked into this room, where all her predecessors lay, their minds preserved in the everlasting memory of that which they came from, never wore out. The Ice reached out to the Commander, and she felt a sudden hostility towards the Earth people that were now moving towards the planet.

She shook her head, and attempted to brush it off when she saw that this feeling originated from the most recently deceased _Elsa_. A flash of images, explosions, pain, the Explorer, and then silence. The Commander shook her head and banished the images from her mind, clearing her head of all hostility and rage. _Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel_. It was particularly due to her most recent predecessor that the name _Elsa_ translated to 'warrior' in so many other had all ended, of course, after her death. The Fourth Quadrant had since then been ravaged by a series of interstellar wars that were only ended after the Ice had chosen this Commander. Many brothers had perished in the War of the Fourth Quadrant. No petty vendetta with humans possessed by any of her predecessors, even her _mother_, would be the cause of another. She was the strongest _Elsa_ to date, and her bond with the Ice rivaled even that of the Bishop. She could not afford to lose control, for everyone's sake.

_Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel_. She would need all her emotions under control to deal with the _Hans_ anyway.

The Strategist, as his name meant in the ancient tongue, sat opposite the Commander's desk, lounging lazily in a chair as he consulted a diagram on his tablet. She was immediately unnerved when he laid his eyes upon her, his tongue darting out almost imperceptibly to lick his lips.

It was quite obvious that he knew how much impact he had on most women, with his auburn red hair, bright green eyes, and well sculpted features. His face was the picture of perfection, those pearly white teeth flashing a dashing smile at the Commander as she took her seat behind the desk. However, the smile did not reach his eyes, she noted. There she saw naught but a very, very strong hunger.

_Hunger for me_. The Commander knew of the effect she had on people too. But unlike _Hans_, _Elsa_ knew that just because she had a gift, she should not use it for her own benefit. If her predecessor had taught her anything, it was just that. The Strategist's smile faded a little as the Commander drew up an ice tablet with a star chart on it and began to discuss possible courses of action instead. When he left, his scowl of displeasure at being unable to achieve his goal was visible to _Elsa_ through the smooth panes of ice that made up the interior of the Flagship. She lay down on her soft bed of snow, and closed her eyes.

_The humans are not a friendly species, they must be stopped._

_You will keep silent_, the Commander responded. _Your death was caused by a silly, personal reason. That is why the power is now mine._ It sounded like a terrible thing to say to your ancestors, but it was true. The last _Elsa_ had died because she had deserted her post for some strange reason that no one understood, and the Ice refused to disclose. The Commander would not let emotions cloud her judgement. She would make the right decision, for the good of her people. That was the role she had been selected to serve, and she would serve it. She would not allow herself, or her people to be remembered as the aggressors, for starting a war with a species they had had scarce contact with, on a brief hunch.

The humans had made it to the stars. They must have some form of civilization at least, it would be unrealistic to assume that they come with the intent only to hurt and kill. _Well, they cannot possibly be too different from us..._ _Apart from the oxygen and water-_

_No!_ _Elsa_ berated herself silently. _What they look like or require to survive should not matter. Only their actions do. _Elsa's hands clenched with shame and she fought to contain the power tingling in her palms. It was strange, how even Ice would shift to such a belligerent state to match her emotions. She could not let it get free. She'd nearly considered xenocide on an alien race solely because they were alien. She would be no better than those who bullied her for having erratic control over the Ice when she was young.

The Commander banished all the emotions from her mind and collapsed into her soft bed of snow. Involuntarily, her head turned to face out of the pane of ice that made up the wall of this ship, this combination of ice and metal. Her eyes wandered to that black mess of straight lines and irregular protrusions that blocked out the beautiful stars and nebulae that sparkled beyond them. Threat or not? The Commander didn't know. But she would try her best to make sure it was the latter, for everyone's sakes. She'd always enjoyed the feeling of being able to look up into the darkened skies of Frossiya and see the stars above. She wouldn't be the cause of anyone, human or her own people, being unable to enjoy that with her.


	2. Chapter 2

UNIF _Living Rock_

"We've channeled extra power into thawing the recon ships in the hangar. The fuel in them should be usable now."

The old officer turned away from the engineer and faced the crew. "Start loading up! We've already wasted two days here thawing the fuel. The sooner we figure out those rings, the sooner we can begin making money!"

Anna had stopped listening once he commanded them to start loading up. That old man's obsession with money was getting to be unhealthy. She had a sneaking suspicion that it would be the end of him. She hefted her duffel bag, filled with clothes and books, plus some data cubes, and walked up the gangplank onto the vessel. Once she entered, she turned left and headed to the cargo hold. Her feet bounced under her in sheer excitement as she thought about what she was about to experience. _I'm actually going to an alien planet! Ha, beats sitting in an office and managing hotels on Earth! Too bad Kristoff isn't coming..._

The strawberry blonde walked into the cargo bay, her bag still around her shoulder. Still humming happily to herself about new experiences and the like, she was understandably surprised when her foot snagged on something she had not seen there previously. With a shout, she went tumbling to the floor, and would have smashed her nose if not for a strong pair of arms grabbing her under the armpits.

Looking up, Anna's eyebrows furrowed even as she smiled, in an awkward mix of confusion and thankfulness. "Hercules?" She stared at the huge soldier who stood before her. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes wandered to a small rack that he seemed to have shifted into the cargo bay. The teal orbs widened. Those were... "_Why_ the hell do we need those?" Anna stabbed a finger at the rack of firearms that was resting in a corner of the cargo bay. Carbines, submachine guns, a shotgun or two. The soldier looked at the rack of 'toys' and laughed. "Oh, well technically we're not supposed to bring any offensive devices. But _those_ are classified as personal defense. So Officer Weselton thought we should bring them along just in case we actually found something." Anna's nose wrinkled in distaste at the smug look on the soldier's face. _Barbarian_.

"Well, how do you know we'll even find anything?"

"Well, Miss Anna, you're certainly not quite the believer in alien life that your brother made you out to be then."

The strawberry blonde whirled around to find that boring old officer standing behind her. His black irises watched her with vested interest as she struggled to craft her reply. "Th-that's not the point!" She spluttered. "Even if we do find something, why do we need to kill them? That can't be good for inter species relations!"

Weselton smiled. "Because, young lady, the UNIF exists to serve humanity's interests. If whatever we find happens to be in the way of our interests, then let's just say I'd rather take what we need rather than give and take."

Anna scowled at the old officer. "But you can't just _kill_ to get what you want!"

"Listen to me, Miss Anna," the old officer growled. "_What_ we find out there is in direct opposition to us claiming humanity's greatest resource of metal and water for the next century. They are against our survival as a species. Unless they can be proven to be something close to what we are, they will be classified as subhuman and treated as such, is that understood?"

"Crystal..." Anna snarled and looked at the ground.

"Good, now get out of the way. Your crewmates would very much like to load up."

Looking up, Anna realized that indeed, her crewmates were being held back because of their conversation. She gulped as she glimpsed a soldier who looked very likely to pick up the assault rifle in that crate below him and use it on her. She rushed out of the cargo bay, positive she could feel them glaring daggers into her back.

* * *

Almost instantly, Anna slammed open the door to Kristoff's cabin and pounced on his bed immediately. With a cry of shock and surprise, Kristoff sat straight up in his bed, and sleep was jolted from his head by a loud crash on the floor. He looked over to find Anna staring up at him from below the bunk. Sheepishly, he offered a hand to her, pulling her up to the edge of the bed.

"Kristoff..."

"What is it, Anna?"

"Why does everyone want to kill any aliens we find down there? What if they're actually really nice and friendly and furry?"

Anna heard Kristoff sigh and rub her hair as she buried her face into his shoulder. "Anna, whatever we find down there may not be friendly, or want to give us what we need-"

"You too?" Anna felt betrayed by Kristoff's attitude and she tore her head free from his grasp, staring straight into his eyes. "What makes you and everyone so sure that whatever we find down there has to be a _what_? Why couldn't it be a _who_? They must have lives too! Maybe they're just like us!"

"ANNA!" Kristoff lost his temper and grabbed her, shoving her face into the tiny porthole that showed ARD-13 outside, a glowing blue ball amongst the fields of stars. "Whatever survives down there lives in a room temperature of less than zero degrees, breathes carbon dioxide, and I don't know, _drinks_ liquid nitrogen! _What_ is down there is not human, Anna, and it is not, and will never be, like us! Now get out, and don't come crying to me when some reptilian monster devours your face!" The blonde flopped back into his bed, paying no heed to Anna who simply sat forlornly on its edge.

So she was alone in her belief. Anna looked at her best friend since young. Not even he was willing to believe that there was the possibility of friendly contact between humans and others. All humans knew how to do was manipulate, enslave, and take. Any animals left on Earth could testify to that. Was there no goodness left in this race? And if aliens were really that much like humans, did she really want to meet them?

Anna gazed silently out of a huge pane of glass between decks, admiring the beautiful rings that surrounded ARD-13 in the distance, the stars of the Milky Way twinkling all around it. When she was a child, wondering about the possibility of alien life, these questions had not been present in her mind. Neither had she been the only one enthusiastic about the possibilities of alien life. Now it was different. She was regarded as different, for being the one who would even entertain the notion of friendly alien life, even alien life's existence. Centuries of science-fiction movies had poisoned the minds of her peers, and so Anna found herself feeling lonely, even amongst her own species.

"I know you're out there somewhere," Anna whispered to the stars. "I know the friendly aliens that no one wants to believe in, are somewhere out there. And if you are there, I will find you, I swear it."

* * *

Flagship _Glaciar_ of the Eighth Ringfleet. Geosynchronous orbit around Frossiya

"_Elsa_!"

The Commander was roused from her sleep immediately by her title being called. She leapt up from the bed of snow and swept a hand over herself. The ceremonial dress she had been in before was immediately replaced by ice plate armor. A breastplate, pauldrons, gauntlets, boots and other accessories sparkled into existence as she walked briskly towards the command centre. Doors opened before she even laid a hand on them, the Ice that made them up sensing her urgency and adhering to her request. She ignored the stares of other soldiers as their own battle armor materialized. Her unique abilities only made her job easier, so she could handle being _different _for now.

The bridge was a flurry of activity when she walked through the doors. Her eyebrows furrowed in distaste as she saw the _Hans_ already giving orders in her place, but she thought nothing of it until she heard the order he was giving.

"Fire!"

"Belay that!" She yelled, and the weapons officers opened their eyes, removing their hands from the metal receivers that joined into the smooth ice of the battleship's turrets. Freezing winds swirled throughout the room, laced with ice pellets that instantly turned all heads to her. As the bridge gradually fell silent, the Commander turned to the Strategist.

"Leave the bridge now, you are not required here."

"With all due respect, _Elsa-"_

"You will not use my name, and you will leave this bridge now. Your role is strictly advisory, a back seat job, _I_ am to handle the frontline fighting. You will not give another order on this bridge again or you will be barred from it completely. I have _Kai_ for when I am not around. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Commander," the _Hans_ bowed his head and backed away. The Commander noticed the back of his neck quivering. Shame, or rage? _Conceal, don't feel_. _I don't have time for his feelings. There's an emergency_.

"_Kai_, what is happening?"

"The human vessel has released a smaller module. It is approaching us at great speed as we speak." Animated Ice was showing the progress of the ship as it moved, but _Elsa_ could see it very clearly from the bridge. The Ice that crafted the bridge allowed view to the outside, but none _from _the outside. It looked more like a really smooth blob of ice. The small human vessel was a bright, speeding beacon against the blackness of space. Flames belched from its engines and the Commander could feel the Ice's loathing for the thing which it emitted. _Heat_.

"Do we destroy them, Commander?" The _Kai_ prompted.

"Bring the Ringfleets to alert status, and prepare to initiate melding if necessary. Prepare for me ten soldiers and a small ship. We will meet the threat. I will not be harmed."

_Why do you risk your life? What if you die? What will your father say?_

_The Leader will respect my decision, because that is the only way to find out more about these 'invaders'. Assumptions will not guide my actions. You, as _Elsa_ before me, should have known that._

_Don't you even care about how your father feels about you risking your life?_

_My responsibility is to protect the planet. My personal life and needs are irrelevant. Conceal, don't feel._

The nagging presence in the back of her mind recoiled upon hearing the mantra and then disappeared. _Elsa_ wished she could have treated her mother's consciousness in a more friendly way, but hurt to the living was a greater cost than hurt to the dead. There was simply no time to worry about the feelings of the previous Commander. As for her father... she hoped he would understand. Blue light emitted from her palms and formed into the shape of a longsword, before solidifying with a flash. Around her waist in designated slots on her belt various daggers and breaching tools formed. Lastly, on the right side of her waist she withdrew the combination of ice and metal that was her service pistol from over two hundred years ago. With a single prod from her mind the inhibition mechanism disappeared and the weapon hummed to life, emitting a faint heat that was swiftly negated by her own power being released from storage cells. It was time to do her job. To meet the first real threat to Frossiya in almost two hundred years.

"Commander, your ship is ready. The ten men are retrieving their arms. What should they bring with them?"

"Give half of them boat guns. The other half raws." The Commander walked off towards the hangar, her boots making no sound on the polished ice beneath her. When she arrived, a cursory inspection was conducted. Ten soldiers stood in front of her, staring stoically ahead. All of them wore ice plate armor in a more utilitarian configuration compared to her medieval styled suit. Half of them cradled S-Class rifles, metallic weapons encased in shells of ice, inhibitors removed. The other half held raw swords with blades of glowing blue energy. A blade touched the floor by accident, and the soldier jerked it up immediately, but not before a small build-up of ice accumulated there. Had the ship been made of any other substance, such as metal, the blade would have stabbed straight through it, or the cold temperature would have made the hull buckle in on itself.

"Do not engage the enemy unless given the order to do so. This is a purely investigatory mission. Now follow me." The soldiers bowed and followed _Elsa_ onto the ship. None of them spoke as the Commander's mind interfaced with the ice, merely watched in awe as she mentally piloted the ship without assistance from another crew member.


	3. Chapter 3

UNIF Reconnaissance Ship _John Doe_. On trajectory towards ARD-13

"_Attention, all crew members, please make your way to the bridge immediately. Repeat, please make your way to the bridge immediately._"

Anna groaned as she was roused from her sleep by Hercules slapping her back. _What the hell's going on? Why couldn't I just sleep for a few more minutes..._

"Hey! Stop sleeping over there, this is an emergency!"

Anna perked up again. Emergency? Well no one was going to get down to resolving one without her presence to grace the occasion. Thankful that she'd already tied her hair into her signature twin braids before going to sleep, Anna hurriedly strapped on her boots and ran to the bridge. The clanking sounds of boots against the metallic hull filled the air and Anna drew energy from this 'lively' atmosphere.

When she finally reached the bridge, Officer Weselton was standing on the Captain's podium, in front of a huge viewscreen that showed the position of the ship relative to ARD-13. "Attention, everyone!" He called. "A few minutes ago, the _John Doe_'s sensors detected a chunk of ice detaching itself from the planet's rings. It is now accelerating towards us, and we saw fit to wake everyone up in case drastic maneuvers were required." Even as the bridge now erupted into a clamor, a speaker on the wall suddenly began to squawk a collision alarm. Instantly, all complaints melted into silence. "_Brace, brace, brace-_"

_Crack. Bang_.

With a loud scratching sound and a few clangs, the hull shuddered, before beginning to spin at an insanely fast pace as the weight of the ship was suddenly imbalanced. Anna held on for dear life to a piece of handrail that just happened to be in front of her, while the less fortunate around her fell to the ground and began to roll.

"What the hell happened?" she heard Weselton's voice above all the screaming from around her.

"I don't know. I- what?" The crewman sitting in front of her noticeably paled. "Sir, the engines are being cut off! They've been smothered by _ice formations_!" _What?_ She barely heard Weselton's reply as the speakers began to sound off again. "_Attention, all crew. Hull breaches detected in close proximity to the bridge. Recommend all personnel put on oxygen masks immediately. Hull breaches..._"

The bridge immediately fell silent as the metal on the bridge's ceiling began to buckle and crack, before finally splitting and allowing ten circular holes to form. From each fell a single chunk of ice. That _stood up_. As the temperature in the bridge began to drop, Anna began to shiver, and frost crept over every single non-organic surface. The figures began to move, and Anna examined the figure closest to her. It was not a moving ice statue, but instead was actually a man wearing what appeared to be some kind of battle armor, with a full face helmet. But it was made of... _ice_?

A single brave soldier stood up and raised his assault rifle, but with a loud whine a beam of blue energy hit his chest, the concussive impact sending him flying across the room. With a crunch, he hit the wall and slid down, his uniform reduced to nothing, armor plates shorn apart. The ice-man who had fired the shot lowered his weapon, the muzzle emitting light condensation. Anna's mind was completely numb as she surveyed the boarders, and she found herself marveling over irrelevant things such as how her fellow crewmates were able to keep quiet through all of that. _What?_

With a loud crack, another hole appeared in the centre of the bridge, and onto the Captain's podium fell another ice-man. Wait, it was a woman! Anna, as well as several other crew members drew in a breath.

The woman wore form fitting armor plates that made her look beautiful and powerful at the same time. Her platinum blonde locks were tied into a braid that was wound around her head. She had high rosy cheekbones, perfect pink lips, a small dainty nose. And oh, the most perfect, large and round icy blue eyes. That ice longsword she held in her hand only served to make her look even more badass... and sexy. Too bad part of her face was obscured by a stupid transparent nozzle that covered her nose.

"What is the meaning of this?" Officer Weselton's voice rang out through the silence. The blonde woman whipped around to look at him. "How dare you stop this vessel, you traitors! This is a UNIF mining vessel on a course for the planet ARD-13! I demand you release us immediately!"

With a flick of her wrist, the ice sword dissolved into blue light and faded away. Officer Weselton's face paled. "Sorcery..." His eyes narrowed and glared up at the blonde woman. "I knew there was something dubious going on here."

To Anna's surprise, the blonde woman and her companions laughed. Gazing back into the old officer's now scared black irises, she smirked, then proceeded to speak in a strange accent. "Sorcery? I thought two thousand years would have been enough time for humans to progress beyond belief in _magic_." Anna's eyes turned dreamy at the sound of her melodic voice, and she nearly swooned as that musical laugh sounded again. Such a beautiful creature should not be humanly possible. It was clouding her judgement!

In a foolish move, Anna spoke out, desperate to get on the woman's good side. "Yeah, isn't magic a little _old school_?"

She was utterly unprepared when the deck erupted in a chorus of murmurs. The old officer's eyes seemed unsure whether to narrow in suspicion or widen in fear. Those soldiers that came from the holes in the hull immediately leveled their weapons at her. Most hurting of all however, was the longsword reforming in the woman's hand. Now when she spoke, she did so in a different voice, and it was slurred and nearly unintelligible.

"Human with the copper hair, where did you learn to speak our tongue?"

Anna's eyes widened and her palms began to sweat. _I was speaking in a different tongue? What? You cannot be serious._ "Uh... P-pardon me?" She stammered. In her head, she kicked herself for stammering. Now she was completely, utterly screwed.

Yet, some twisted part of her brain was able to find some kind of joy in the situation. _Oh look, I've finally found aliens. _She thought happily, before a stinging pain hit her in the back of her neck and the world exploded into ice shards.

* * *

Human space vessel en route to Frossiya

The Commander stared at the copper-haired human now being brought into the hold of her own craft. This was most intriguing. It wasn't every day that a member of an alien species on the other side of the galaxy was able to speak your own native tongue.

However, the curiosity and humor she derived from that interesting incident was short lived. Now she turned back to the rest of the humans aboard the vessel. What was she going to do with these?

_Elsa_ had two options. The first was of course to simply slaughter all of them, and destroy their mothership. In a matter of minutes the whole problem of the humans would be solved. But deep down she knew that this was a temporary solution at best. Even if the humans never returned to this part of the galaxy again, they knew of its existence. There was no knowing what they would come back with this time. In any case, it would be a break in a long clean streak for Frossiya since the last War. The Council of the Quadrant would surely call her to stand trial.

The other alternative, of course, would be to destroy this little vessel, then send a warning to the mothership. It would be a better alternative because there was less bloodshed, plus the mothership would get the message and leave. If they were lucky, the humans would be so reluctant to come back that they would not disclose their existence and would never return to this part of the galaxy again.

The final solution would be the ultimate solution. The Commander would tell the Frossiyan Council that the humans were a threat to the galactic status quo and the safety of the galaxy in general. The Ringfleets would be sent to Earth, wherever it was, and they would destroy it completely. No more humans, no more troubles. And a statement to the rest of the galaxy that Frossiya had not gone soft. A sign that the ancient strength of Frossiya five hundred years ago still preserved. Perhaps then those fools from South-Islerii would keep their mouths shut.

As she turned to give her orders however, she saw a human female with long golden hair much like hers but a few shades darker. However, her eyes were much rounder and had brilliant green irises instead of blue. Yet these eyes which she could imagine shining brightly with happiness and light instead were welling up with water. As she watched, the human female's mouth contorted into a grimace of sorts, before clenching and releasing a strangled cry of something like sadness and frustration. The water in her eyes began to run down her cheeks, creating trails over the skin, even as more pools gathered in her eyes. Ignoring the loathing of water in the back of her mind, she made her way over the the female.

As expected, the female looked up once her shadow fell upon her and began to dry off the water with the sleeves of her purple shirt. She stiffened when _Elsa_ laid a hand upon her, and the Commander hastily removed her cold hands. "What's your name?" She asked in her halting human speech. She was not sure how she knew the words, but they came to her and she simply repeated them.

"Rapunzel," the human female sniffed.

The Commander's eyes widened. _Healer_. When she saw the human female looking at her, she blushed and covered her mouth. She'd actually said it out loud. Quickly changing the subject, the Commander asked again. "Why do you cry?" _So this is how humans cry_.

The golden-haired female looked down into her lap. "I'm crying because... you're going to kill us aren't you?" _Elsa_'s eyes widened as she saw the female looking at her with fearful eyes. "That's what all the movies say aliens do. I'm never going to see my dear Eugene again, or my children. Or my mom and dad..."

The female's rambling voice was lost upon the Commander as she reflected upon what she'd said. _That's what all the movies say aliens do_. _Does the galaxy really think so lowly of us? The humans haven't even met us properly yet, and they already think we are hostile_. _Elsa_ thought back on her meetings with her _Kai_, with _Hans_. All had been regarding the best way to deal with humans if they were threats. The very _reason for her existence _was to help guard against threats both internal and external. She gazed back to the human who was still talking, now close to crying again. She had a family, offspring, love. She had a life beyond this. If the Commander decided to destroy the entire vessel, she would deprive her children of one parent. She would deprive countless others of the same thing. She would cause great loss, and sadness on Earth. Great hate too, towards Frossiya. Perhaps not directly, but hate towards the cause of death would be felt on them.

She'd felt the same when the news had come back of her mother's death in space. The tears, the anger, the surge of terrible emotions. The hatred towards space and everything that lay outside the planet. Hate towards whatever had killed her mother. Fear that it would be back to destroy the rest of them.

Humans were so much like them, it was unnerving.

_Elsa_ refused to be the cause of all those emotions. She would not be the cause of fear, anger, pain. She would not cause unnecessary deaths for the sake of her own people. They could handle themselves. They were the elder race. The humans were the younger. So they had to learn. But how would they learn if she destroyed their homeworld without giving them a chance?

Surprising herself again, she placed a hand on the sobbing human's shoulder, patting it until she stopped sobbing, before standing. "You will be allowed to return to your vessel, with the exception of the one who spoke our language. Never return to our world, or there will be consequences. We will trouble you no further." An unusual warmth flooded her veins as she heard sighs of relief and cries of happiness echoing around the bridge of this queer metal vessel. She allowed herself a rare smile towards the human who was now embracing another of her crewmates. After seeing the female smile back, she turned to leave, stepping back under the tubes connecting the metallic hull of the human vessel to their own.

As _Elsa_ flew upwards back into her vessel, she caught a glimpse of the human female being wrapped in several layers of insulation, still unconscious. She massaged her temples and nearly groaned in frustration as she walked back to her seat in the bridge of the ship. Another problem waiting to be solved. Was there no end to this?


	4. Chapter 4

UNIF Reconnaissance Vessel _John Doe_. Returning to _Living Rock_

Duke Weselton tried his best to look intimidating without having to tiptoe as he stood on the Captain's podium. His vessel had been taken control of by a small force of about ten aliens, and one of them had been a woman. He gritted his teeth and grimaced as he thought about all the metal that had been left behind there on the planet. All his riches, his hopes and dreams, had been shattered by a goddamn woman who could do some fancy things with ice!

He looked around at the crew from his perch. Contrary to the serious attitude with which they had been moving with as the small vessel had made its way towards the ice planet, the mood was much lighter now. Of the eighteen people left conscious, not a single one was able to stop gushing about their experience. None could stop spouting complete garbage about their fear, trepidation and admiration for the aliens which had briefly taken over the vessel.

He looked over again to a distant corner of the vessel. There, a woman with long blonde hair and green eyes sat with a circle of about six other girls around her. As she continued talking, all of them made sounds of admiration and envy. _Rapunzel_. Now they all looked to him and immediately burst into giggles. Duke struggled to control his anger as he quivered with rage in his seat.

He'd seen the blonde alien woman kneel down next to the sobbing Rapunzel and speak to her. He'd seen her words move the alien in such a way that she had ultimately decided to let them go back to the spaceship unscathed. He scowled. Weak. Weak was what Rapunzel was. She'd not had the courage, the audacity to stand up to the aliens and forcefully demand what they wanted. Instead she'd withdrawn into herself with sadness, and assisted in the aliens' decision to return them to the vessel rather than negotiate. She'd made him look like a complete fool, as he was forcefully restrained by the 'sorcerers'. Even now, the soldiers that still walked around the bridge were grinning at him whilst they waved their arms around, making stupid noises that he supposed were meant to be voodoo sounds. She'd compromised his leadership, and gotten her own little following of people.

Weselton clenched his fists and bowed his head. Those stupid aliens were the only thing in the way of him and the biggest task he had been assigned in his entire career. The biggest profit he would ever have made for the company, the biggest amount of recognition he would receive for his contributions to the UN's coffers. All the money, promotions, and bonuses. A life of ease. All gone because of those aliens. He'd be damned if he was going to let those subhumans take away all that from him.

The situation could still be salvaged. But for that, Rapunzel would have to go.

Once the ship docked with the _Living Rock_, he dashed to the airlock as fast as his short legs could carry him, making sure he was the first one to enter the other vessel. Rather conveniently for his plan, Rapunzel was right behind him. As soon as he stepped into the larger vessel he turned and stabbed a finger at Rapunzel. "Men, seize this traitor!"

The blonde woman struggled and turned to him, eyes widened. "What did I do?" A brown-haired man with similarly colored eyes and a hint of stubble rushed to her side. "Yeah, what did she do?" He questioned.

Duke's eyes narrowed as he pointed his finger again at the woman. "For conspiring with the aliens!" The indignant shouts of the six girls around her were immediately drowned out by the loud yells at the word 'aliens'. The six of them were immediately silenced as the guards pressed firearms to their spines.

Duke began to speak, pouring every single inch of his acting skill into conveying what he hoped was a convincing lie to the rest of the crew. He waved his arms about madly as he told the story of what had happened 'out there, at the cursed planet'. "... and she spoke to the alien woman's leader! She spoke to that mockery of humanity and struck a bargain with her. To let us leave alive so that we would never go back! Are we going to let those subhumans trample us like this?"

"_No!_" Responded the crowd.

"We are humans, we are a proud race! Are we going to let a bunch of ice wielding aliens stop us from getting what we want?"

"_No!_" The crew roared.

"Anna! Anna!"

The loud cheers were silenced immediately as a huge blonde man ran to the front of the crowd, his eyes searching madly before settling on Weselton's small frame. "Anna, where is she?" Weselton thought of the strawberry blonde woman who had been taken by the aliens. Another abomination, for being able to speak their language. Why did he want to know? He looked up again at the blonde man. _Kristoff Bjorgman_. He barely suppressed the smile forming on his lips.

"Sorry, Mister Bjorgman, but she was taken by the aliens. She is currently somewhere out there right now." He gestured towards the blue planet.

He watched, nearly bursting out in laughter as the blonde man's face contorted in rage. He punched a nearby bulkhead, before grabbing Weselton's shirt. "I don't care how many orders you have shoved up that little ass of yours to avoid hostile alien contact, _they_ didn't follow them. You're not leaving Anna behind!"

Weselton smiled and pried himself free of Kristoff's grasp. "I wasn't going to," he said, and turned back to the crowd. "We're going to need all the help we can to get young Miss Anna back. So who's with us?"

Duke's mouth reached his ears as the struggling Rapunzel was dragged off to the brig, her crewmates now spitting at her and cursing her. The crew now surged with one mind behind Kristoff to the simulation room to begin their training to handle the firearms. Assignment of roles, formation of teams. Little cogs in the huge system of gears that spun into motion for the plan. And Kristoff, the perfect figurehead! Duke could not remember a time that he had been similarly well fortuned, and he crowed silently to himself. Soon, that planet and all its materials would be his, and those pesky aliens that inhabited the planet, dead. Poor Miss Anna was unfortunately, expendable.

* * *

_Elsa_'s Chambers. City of Frossen, Frossiyan Capital

The Commander hated to admit it, but she was starting to feel a little concerned for the copper-haired human.

She had been asleep since being hit by the S-round on the ship earlier in the day, and had not woken for the past five hours. Granted, the human female's sleep had evolved from being completely silent to emitting odd grunting noises and leaking water from her mouth, but _Elsa_ still wasn't sure that was a good thing. She wasn't sure if the temperature was a good thing either. Her chambers were constructed out of a pale blue ice that threw facets of light all over the place when the little light from the sun hit them. A fountain of liquid nitrogen ran in a corner of the room, and the bed itself was made of a mattress woven out of microscopic ice threads, packed with snow inside. The blanket was many layers of the same thing. Compared to the simple bed of snow that the Commander slept in, this replica of a human bed had taken almost two hours to make. Most would have viewed such measures for a prisoner unnecessary, but _Elsa_ saw fit to make her guest comfortable.

Although tired out by the day's events, the Commander still sat at the human female's bedside and kept watch over her. The Council convened tomorrow to decide the fate of this human female who could speak their tongue. As if that were shocking compared to the similarities already glaringly obvious between their own people and the humans. Or more importantly, between herself and the female.

A look at the human female's hair told the Commander that it was pretty much the same as hers. It would not stay in place unless held there. The Commander froze her white-gold locks in place until they capitulated and held their position. The human female's hair, a combination of red and gold, looked and- oh, even felt the same texture. _Elsa_ withdrew her ice cold hand quickly as the human stirred. She wondered how the human had managed to tame something as uncontrollable as hair, let alone style it into two braids instead of just one.

Now on to the facial features. The Commander's eyes raked over the same high cheekbones, the small nose, and eyelids that shielded a pair of large, beautiful aquamarine eyes. What made it more beautiful was the tanned color of the skin on which this visage was sculpted. The warm, golden look of the skin as compared to her own pale complexion made the Commander want to rest her cheek on it forever, and savor its welcoming warmth for all eternity. Nevertheless, the Commander held back her desires, fearing that she would wake the human. She could not bear to disturb this beautiful creature from her sleep. That small smile that curled the perfect lips as she lay there, (never mind the trail of water), just made the human look so peaceful and beautiful. To wake or disturb something so alluring was a sin.

_Elsa_ clapped a hand to her mouth and began to blush furiously as she realized what she'd been doing. _Conceal, don't feel_. _What are you doing?_ The few freckles she had began to show as she thought more seriously about what had just happened. However, she was nearly sidetracked again as she caught sight of freckles dusting themselves across the human's nose and cheekbones. _Adorable_...

Mentally, she slapped herself and slumped back into the armchair that she'd shaped beside the human's bed. She was admiring the beauty of a member of a completely alien species! A species Frossiya had had limited or no contact with before! _What the hell is wrong with me_, the Commander thought as she tried to bring her breathing and emotions under control. _Imagine what would happen if _Hans _saw me now. Becoming all flustered over a sleeping human female_.

_Elsa_ stiffened.

Human female.

That was something else that she was afraid to admit to herself. Her existence required no reproduction between male and female, but there was no denying that what she felt wasn't _normal_. _Conceal, don't feel. Let no emotion show_.

Forget not being normal. This human was here for purely investigatory purposes, there was no possibility of any intimate contact between them. She shook her head fiercely and cleared her mind. This human female was an anomaly. An impossibility. In all likelihood the decision of the Council would be to liquidate her, for it seemed her own kind would no longer take her back. She'd seen the look in the eyes of that silver-haired human. The one that looked like _Hans_' human counterpart. In their eyes she was no longer anything like them, she had become something utterly different simply because of her ability to speak a different language. If the Commander allowed herself to get close to this strange human, there was no telling of the way it would affect her decision as to whether or not to keep her alive. And a choice like this was crucial.

Yet, she felt a pang of pity for this human female. Among the people of Frossiya now, she was utterly alone. She had no friends to speak of in this place, no familiar places, no familiar animals. The human would be relying solely on her strange fluency in the Frossiyan language. Yet among her own people she would still be alone, probably persecuted for having the ability to communicate with an alien race. Xenophobic as they were, it was highly likely the humans would choose to kill her rather than spare her and use her as a diplomatic tool. Either way her existence would be hard and lonely. And it wasn't like in the case of _Elsa_ where she barred herself from getting close to others to avoid negative influence. The human would be living a life of isolation, lies and politics. A world of manipulation and rhetoric. She would be unable to get close to anyone on either side, whether she wanted to or not. For _they_ would be shutting her out rather than the reverse.

Both of them were so lonely in their worlds, among their people. One by necessity, one involuntarily. The Commander could not help but feel some kind of familiarity with the human. Ignoring all the instincts that screamed for her to remember her duty and place, she took hold of the human's hand, before beginning to speak in slow human speech.

"I don't know... how you're able to understand us. I don't know why you revealed your gift. But I know that from that moment on, you will be alone. Utterly alone. And if it's worth anything, I am too." _Elsa_ caressed the hand lightly, letting herself get carried away. "I'm sorry I had to separate you from your race. But I think it would have been a lot worse if I had not. I promise I will do whatever it takes to make sure you are... fairly judged." _No promises_. "May the Ice protect you. You will need Its help from now on."

Releasing the human's warm hand, _Elsa_ wrapped her hands around her own torso, although she knew no warmth like the human's would come with it. In this position, she fell into a soft, dreamless sleep in the chair next to the human in her bed.


	5. Chapter 5

Somewhere on ARD-13, in the Blonde Alien's chambers

The first thing that Anna noticed when she finally awoke was that for the first time in forever, she was completely awake as she was roused from her slumber. No desire nestled within her to return to the impossible land of her dreams. And no wonder, for her last forty winks had been completely dreamless. It had instead been replaced by cold, black darkness. This place, with its pale blue crystal walls and ceiling, throwing glimmering pinpoints of light all over the room, was so much nicer. And the bed, it was so comfortable and soft, as though she were lying upon a bed of snow, and covered in more of the same substance. She never expected she would find such a serene, peaceful and calm place on the ship. She closed her eyes.

_WAIT, WHAT?_

Anna's eyes flew open again and she sat up with a jolt, throwing the blankets off her only to realize that indeed, she had been sleeping on a bed of soft snow, the blankets she was covered with some kind of crystalline thread filled with the same thing. She took in a sharp breath as she noticed that wherever she was, the entire room was made out of gleaming, crystalline ice. A desk with a chair sat in one corner of the room, the wall behind it and across it covered by shelves and racks, housing all sorts of things. Strange tablets made of ice colored green, blue, yellow, red and others were housed within the shelves. On racks sat at least five different suits of armor, all styled differently, from modern, utilitarian to vaguely medieval. Rifles, handguns and bladed weapons of all kinds took up the remaining space. The little light that filtered down into the room came through a pale blue ceiling that had a huge, snowflake crest engraved into it. In a corner of the room a fountain of some sort ran, the water within splashing out into the pool below it. Anna nearly laughed out loud. A water fountain in a room made of ice? That was ridiculous. Even more ridiculous was the fact that she wasn't shivering even in the slightest.

Turning back to her right side, she nearly fell of the bed, and accidentally let out a small squeak as her eyes fell upon the blonde woman from the holes in their ship.

Correction, the blonde _alien_.

In typical Anna fashion, her brain jumped to extremely stupid, irrelevant things such as _oh my God, she's so beautiful!_ Although this was already their second time meeting, Anna couldn't help but admire her captor again, this time taking in details she had not noticed on the ship. In this dying light, the alien's blonde hair appeared a lot closer to white than yellow, making her even more beautiful, as while her hair was that of a mature woman her face remained young. _Ooh, her eyebrows and eyelashes are dark, they have hair dye too? That's so cool!_ _And those freckles across her nose and cheeks, they're so cute!_ Anna couldn't help but fawn over the beautiful alien like one would over a puppy. She hadn't even moved down to the body yet. If the previous outfit had been sexy, this one was even better. Anna's eyes were practically bulging out of her head. This nightdress had not been covered over by a robe, and hints of pale skin could be seen peeking out from between the individual ice crystals. In a rather provocative manner a long slit had been cut out of the side of it, allowing for more movement. Indeed, the alien shifted her legs as soon as Anna's eyes fell upon the slit, allowing an eyeful of creamy white skin.

Now very much flushed, Anna had to pry her eyes away from the beautiful blonde in that chair. Now, with her head cleared, she looked down at herself. A rather disgusting taste lingered in her mouth from sleeping so long. A stupid nozzle much like the one the alien had been wearing had been inserted into her nose. Anna huffed, immediately regretting it as liquid dripped down the inside in response to her warm breath. As for her clothes, none had been removed. Even Kristoff's coat was still on her.

Kristoff!

_Wow, real slow Anna, you've been kidnapped by aliens and you haven't even realized it_. Instantly, her friendliness towards the blonde alien sleeping in the chair next to the bed vanished. Who did she think she was? Kidnapping innocent humans? Where were the rest of the people in the ship? Anna clapped her hands to her cheeks, producing a very loud clap that echoed throughout the room. She cursed herself as she heard the blonde alien stir. Hiding behind the other side of the bed now, her brain now began to sound off ridiculous theories. Was she the last survivor? What was going to happen now? Was she going to become a _slave_ to the aliens?

No, Anna decided. She shook her head furiously. Anna Delle was not going to become a slave to any alien (for that one she might make an exception). _Wait, no, what?!_ She was going to be the hero, the one who rescued her crewmates from whatever prison they were in right now on this frozen planet. She would sneak out of the room with a weapon, and hold anyone she saw at gunpoint until they let her pass and released her friends. Then, she would release her friends and return to Earth a hero, and get a medal. There, great plan!

Easier said than done though. Almost as soon as she stood Anna nearly slipped and fell on the smooth ice floor. Slipping and sliding, Anna was only able to keep her balance by waving her arms about like a chicken of sorts. However, this balance was short lived, for the next thing Anna knew her head had made contact with the butt of some rifle hanging off the wall. With a resounding _crack_ her vision went blurred and the strawberry blonde fell onto the floor, the rifle joining her soon after, dealing her a hard whack on the back of the head that shocked her back to her senses.

Immediately, she knew the game was up when a loud scraping was heard, as well as the clicking sound of what she knew to be heeled boots. With a huff, she tried her best to push the heavy weapon off herself. Struggling, she was overjoyed when the piece of ice was finally lifted away. Anna slowly got to her feet, only to find herself face to face with the piercing blue irises of the blonde alien woman, who in her hands held the very weapon she had thought she'd lifted away. Blushing furiously and smiling sheepishly, Anna faced the woman, hands clasped together in front of her in a submissive posture. She cast her gaze to the floor, unable to face her captor, who was clad in that very, very nice nightdress and holding a long rifle.

Watching the alien place the weapon back on the rack, Anna spoke up, this time making sure that her lips were forming English words. "What's your name?"

The alien stiffened and turned around. "I would have thought your first question would be why you were still alive."

Anna winced as the melodic voice she'd heard in the ship now turned into cold, piercing tones. "Well, that too, but I would have hoped you didn't want to kill me from the start." Uneasily, she shifted her feet, staring at her captor, hoping she'd said the right thing.

"Are you cold?" The alien asked, turning back to the various mounts on the wall, still trying to fit the rifle back into its grooves. Anna let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She bent down to help fit the stock into its mount, saving the alien the effort of bending down. "Not really. Are we on the planet? It's beautiful! I can't believe you guys made all this out of... ice!" She clapped her hands together and admired the room again.

To her surprise, the alien laughed a little, before clapping a hand over her lips to silence them. "Yes, we are on my homeworld. I think you'd want to save your little gift in tongues till later, it might help. Follow me now, the Council is waiting." With a flash of light the nightdress was replaced by a rather solemn looking military uniform, and the alien walked soundlessly out of the room.

_Gift in tongues? Well, I'll show you a thing or two with my- wait._ Anna smacked a palm to her forehead, realizing that she'd been speaking in alien language all the while. A blush began to rise over her face and neck, as she lamented her misunderstanding of the beautiful alien's words. She was after all, an alien! Where did she even get that idea?

At that moment, she noticed that the blonde woman was gone. She'd mentioned a Council of some sort. Anna paled. _A meeting. Shit!_ She ran off towards the door, her progress greatly helped by another fall that sent her sliding out into the corridor's wall. Sliding down to the icy floor, she heard a few giggles. Whipping her head round, a woman's silhouette vanished around the corner. Leading up to it was a trail of fresh snowfall. Gratefully, Anna planted her feet on the little trail of traversable ground and followed the alien onwards.

* * *

_Elsa_'s Chambers. City of Frossen, Frossiyan Capital

The Commander's eyes flew open once she heard the crash. She had been feigning sleep since the copper-haired human made that adorable sound. _Elsa_ had fought hard to control her facial features, just barely holding back a smile at the human's antics. Deciding to give her guest a few more moments' sleep, her lids had remained closed for for the time being.

Evidently, the human really didn't think of the Commander as a host. More like a captor, if what had happened was anything to judge by.

The moment her eyes had opened the groove of a missing long rifle from the wall was glaringly obvious. Even more obvious in the back of her mind was the lack of a safety on the archaic weapon, and the fact that for some ludicrous reason, it was heat based. _Elsa_ fought the urge to groan. What in the name of the Ice would have possessed the human to try to steal a firearm and escape? Especially something as dangerous as that. A single shot would vaporize the entire room. The Commander's eyes widened. She had to protect her guest!

The golden-haired woman was less than amused to find the human with the copper hair trapped under the weapon, trying in vain to push it off of herself. The Commander sighed and walked over to her, placing her hands on the muzzle of the weapon and picking it up. The human definitely wasn't as strong as she looked. The nozzle inserted into the human's nose misted up as she gave a huff of frustration and shoved the rifle's body away. _Elsa_ shook her head. That fragile nozzle looked extremely close to melting away entirely. The Ice had been less than keen to produce a fraction of itself that produced the humans' much-needed oxygen rather than carbon dioxide and nitrogen. _Foolish human_.

Looking extremely satisfied with herself for someone who had just been trapped under a basic fighting implement, the human got to her feet. _Elsa_ felt a little twinge of regret as the radiant smile on the human's face promptly disappeared when met with her own stoic stare, and the beautiful aquamarine eyes shifted to look at the ground instead. The human's hands clasped together in front of her, in a diminutive pose. Satisfied that she would cause no more trouble, the Commander moved to place the weapon back in its groove.

"What's your name?"

The sudden echo of the human speech bouncing off the walls caught the Commander off guard, and she tensed up, her hand freezing as she was fitting the rifle back into its groove.

_My name?_

_I have no name. I am _Elsa_. I am the Commander. Conceal, don't feel. I hear and I obey._

Was there no end to the surprises this human could give? No one had been interested in knowing the Commander's name before. When she was a child it was the brunt of jokes. When she had ascended to this position it was simply a title. A strange feeling it was, to have someone wanting to know her name.

_Remember your place. Remember your duty. Names and species are irrelevant._

The Commander dispelled all thoughts of divulging her name. Her responsibility was to her people. Her homeworld. The only responsibility she had to the human female would be to have her fairly judged. Such impertinence no doubt would not sit well with the Council. Frossiyans were a judgmental race. First impressions mattered the world to them, and the human's life rested in her own hands. Her actions would determine it. The Commander let out a mental curse. She would have to answer anyway, but to make sure the human gave all the right impressions, she would have to give the right answer.

"I would have thought the first question would be why you were still alive."

_Elsa_ winced. Not only had her reply been in Frossiyan language, but it had been in the cold, clipped tone she used when dealing with people she particularly disliked. _Well, I suppose it wouldn't be too far from what she expected. After all, it seems that to humans, all other races are barbaric, violent destroyers. Only _they_ would be morally superior._ She couldn't blame the human. The next half hour would be a meeting conducted by extremely biased and prejudiced people, deciding her survival or execution. Not to mention the fact that it would be conducted on a different planet, in a bleak and unfamiliar atmosphere. Pity for the human was written all over her face. The Commander hated to admit it, but this sympathy was bringing her closer to the human than she would have liked. _It's gonna hurt more then, when they decide to kill her. And look at the part you've had in that, convincing her that her executioners are emotionless statues._ For what other outcome would there be, if she responded the way the Commander would have?

"Well, that too, but I would have hoped that you didn't want to kill me from the start."

The human's reply was flawlessly enunciated. Under different circumstances, she could have easily been a native of the planet. However, it was less spontaneous than her previous outburst, more calm and measured. Optimism was carried within it, but it was cautious prodding. The human assumed the best of her captors, despite the fact that they were after all, her captors. The Council would probably approve. Assuming she kept this demeanor throughout whatever transpired, and she probably would, judging from the shifting of feet she could hear, all would go pretty well.

Deciding to give the human a break, the Commander turned back to the task at hand, aligning the rifle with the grooves in the wall and pushing it in. "Are you cold?" she asked, genuinely curious. Apparently human body temperature was quite a bit higher than the planet's. In fact it was so high that the Ice itself was protesting her very presence.

The rifle slid back into its groove in the wall. Surprised, the Commander looked down, and saw the human's head of brownish-red hair pushing the weapon's stock back into its groove. "Not really. Are we on the planet? It's beautiful! I can't believe you guys made all this out of... ice!" _Elsa_'s heart melted, and a warm feeling spread through her limbs. Whatever the Council decided, the human had won her over. To help a member of another species that she'd never met before? To admire the beauty of a room many would have considered a prison? Naive, indeed. But also admirable, and adorable. Had the Commander been in her place, she would have been devising ways to incapacitate whoever had captured her and escape. Perhaps even bringing the Ringfleets back with her to exact revenge. But no, this human was different. A good different. Kindness and goodness radiated out of her like nothing the Commander had ever seen before. It filled her with an overwhelming urge to laugh, to laugh like she never had before.

Quickly clapping a hand over her mouth, _Elsaresponded. _"Yes, we are on my homeworld. You might want to save your little gift in tongues until later, it might help." She smirked at the human's almost natural lapse back into a language she shouldn't have understood. "Follow me now, the Council is waiting." The informal setting nearly caused her to forget her place. With a wave of her hand, a ripple spread over her body and her military uniform, studded with various medals materialized. She almost considered removing the heels on her boots, before deciding the human could do with some kind of informality. She walked out of the room.

Soundlessly, she walked down the icy corridors. _Do you think the human will hold up against the Council? Especially against your father?_

_Seems you're looking forward to seeing her get torn apart. She's in my charge. She will be fairly judged._

_And exactly where is she now?_

_Elsa _cursed under her breath and turned back. Sure enough, the human was nowhere to be seen. How was it possible that she'd let the human out of her charge? She didn't even know her name. Why did she even trust her? _Conceal, don't feel_. The Commander fought to control the wave of panic that was rising within her and doubled back on her footsteps.

_Crash_

_Sounds like her latest escape attempt hasn't gone well._

The Commander peeked round the corner to see the copper-haired human sliding down to the ground, a few fractures spreading outwards from a patch of wall unlucky enough to be caught in the clumsy human's way. _Elsa_ couldn't resist a smirk as she watched the human sitting there with an adorably dazed look on her face, rubbing the front of her cranium. She really didn't seem all that threatening compared to her brethren who threatened the existence of the planet. In fact, it seemed unlikely that they were _brethren_. Giggling, the Commander gave a single wave of her hand, allowing fresh snowfall to coat the floor between herself and the human, before turning on her heel and walking off again.

She wasn't supposed to get close to anyone, least of all an alien. But she could get used to this, she really could. Granted, the human's antics were cheap entertainment, but who wouldn't like someone as cute as her? It was _painful_ to even think about executing something so hard to find. A kind, pure soul such as hers who wouldn't even presume murderous intentions even when held captive. A naturally helpful being who tried to make others' lives easier. Not to mention the fact that she was truly a beautiful thing. The Council would not execute this human, _Elsa_ decided. Even if she had to forfeit her reputation for cold, detached efficiency, she would not allow the goodness within the human to be extinguished. There was little enough left in the galaxy anyways, all the good, courageous ones had died in the last war. Only cowards remained. Perhaps something as unmolested, pure and fresh as the human would do them some good.


End file.
